The innovation of process technologies used in the automotive industry is very important both to respond quickly to changes in the vehicle (new materials, new architectures, etc.) and to implement changes in the regulations (environment, ergonomics, etc.). The main areas of innovation cover the requirements of:

·         flexibility, both the production volumes, increasingly uncertain and variable, and in relation to the introduction of new models;

·         easy application of new materials and new processes and joints;

·         modularity, to use standard function modules easily reconfigurable/replaceable (handling devices, clamping devices, welding, etc);

·         environmental sustainability, to rationalize energy consumption and use of raw materials;

·         ergonomics, to minimize the physical and cognitive load;

·         security, prevention of active and passive risk of manual operations;

·         efficiency, for the constant and extensive product quality;

·         economic efficiency through systematic recourse to standard solutions.